I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and device for temporarily providing additional support to a suspended animal carcass, such as a carcass suspended for movement along an overhead trolley rail, to prevent the carcass from being pulled from its suspension point while the hide is being pulled from the carcass.
II. Description of Related Art
In the meat packing industry animal carcasses are generally suspended from their hind legs on two hooks carried on trolleys which are continuously driven along an overhead trolley rail to move the carcass through the meat processing facility. As the carcass arrives at the hide removal station, the hide is attached to a linear or rotary puller which pulls the hide from the carcass.
At one time the hide removal operation was accomplished by securely clamping the forelegs of the carcass and pulling the hide upwards towards the hind legs and away from the clamped forelegs. Leg holding machines and hide pullers according to this method are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,653,149 and 4,164,056.
One problem with this method has been the difficulty in automatically locating and clamping the forelegs of the carcass. Unlike the hind legs, which are in a known position close to the overhead trolley rail, the forelegs are dangling, making it difficult to automatically locate and clamp them. Moreover, in the beef packing industry it has now been found to be preferable to pull the hide down from the hind legs towards the head.
Until recently, this downwards pull method was accomplished with the carcass supported only by the trolley hooks on the overhead rail. An example of this method is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,883.
The trolley hooks provide sufficient support to hold the carcass against the force of gravity. Unfortunately, however, the very large forces generated during the hide pulling operation are occasionally sufficient to pull the carcass from the trolley hooks. This results not only in a loss of time as the carcass is replaced on the trolley, but also a loss of meat as the carcass is trimmed manually.
Accordingly, supplemental supporting devices have been developed to provide additional support to the hind legs during the hide pulling operation. Such a device is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,749. In this design, two clamps are extended which encircle the hind legs of the carcass just below the suspension point on each leg at the trolley hook.
However, it has been found that even with this type of supplemental support, carcasses have continued to be pulled from the suspension points on the trolley hooks. A further problem has been that the leg gripping mechanism is relatively complex, and includes multiple pivots, links and actuators in the vicinity of the legs. This makes the leg holder more difficult to clean and service, and more expensive to manufacture.
Yet another difficulty with prior art leg holders has been the accidental breakage of the hind legs during the hide pulling operation at the leg holding point.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and device for supporting a suspended carcass during hide removal which reduces the number of times the carcass is pulled from the trolley rail by more securely engaging the leg than has heretofore been possible.
A second object of the invention is to engage the leg in a manner which prevents the leg from being broken during the hide pulling operation.
A further object of the invention is to prevent the hide pulling force from being transmitted to the suspension means by lifting the carcass relative to the suspension means during the hide pulling operation.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a leg holding mechanism that automatically engages the leg upon extension and which tightens as the hide pulling operation progresses.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a leg holding mechanism that is easily cleaned and sterilized after the hide is removed.